Florida Gators

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The pandemic turned a lot of schedules upside down last year, be it with postponement or cancellation of routine events everywhere. The University Athletic Association, like all sports entities, was impacted. Not just with live events, but traditional ones, as well.

Like honoring the past. 

A few years back, the Gators designated 10-, 25- and 50-year championship anniversaries as ones to be officially celebrated. The UAA has commemorated those teams by inviting them back for a weekend during each football season to be remembered, saluted and cheered at a game. 

COVID whacked the Southeastern Conference championship reunions of the 1970, 1995 and 2010 teams, but only temporarily. Member of the 14 title-winning squads of those years got a rain check invite to join the 13 championship teams of the '71, '96 and 2011 teams for a party this weekend, meaning a total of 27 championship squads will be recalled and toasted with receptions Friday, tailgates Saturday and bows during breaks of 11th-ranked UF's prime-time clash with Tennessee at Spurrier/Florida Field that night. 

Fifteen different sports will be represented. Of the 27 teams, including the 1970 and '71 men's swimming and diving squad, 23 of them will have former athletes in attendance. A golf outing and receptions hosted by Athletic Director Scott Stricklin are on the docket for Friday. And Saturday will include more socializing and inclusion with the ceremonial pre-game Gator Walk into Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, culminating with the game Saturday night in the "Swamp," where Steve Spurrier will say a few words about his '95 and '96 teams, the latter being the program's first to win a national championship. 

Here's a closer look at what figures to be the greatest collection of Florida championship teams ever to return to campus at the same time. 

All 27 of 'em. 


Happy 50th (and 51st) Anniversary!  1970 Men's Swimming & Diving 
Season summary: This wasn't exactly an outlier of a season for the UF swimming team. Since the SEC began competing in men's swimming in 1937, the Gators had won 20 of the 27 conference meets contested. In 1969, however, Tennessee had snapped Florida's 13-year stranglehold on the crown, but the Gators reclaimed their rightful spot atop the league. 
Coach: Future UF Hall-of-Famer Bill Harlan was a six-time SEC Coach of the Year and oversaw the program from 1963-76. 
Stars: The big contributors were Pete Orschiedt (500 free and 1,650 free), Stephen McDonnell (100 fly), Jimmy Perkins (200 breast) and Mark McKee (400 IM), all of whom won events at the SEC meet. 

1971 Men's Swim & Diving 
Season summary: Make it two straight and 15 of the previous 16, dating to 1953. In his first year competing, sophomore Brant Bittner was a force on his way to being named SEC Male Swimmer of the Year in the first year the award was presented.   
Coach: Harlan won eight SEC titles during his 14 seasons.  
Stars: Bittner (500 free, 1,650 free free, 800 free relay), Bruce Williams, Gary Chelosky (200 breast) and the 800 free relay team of Bittner, James Marvin Griffith, Bruce Lynch Williams and Orschiedt won events at the SEC meet. 


Happy 25th (and 26th) Anniversary! 1995 Football 
Season summary: With consecutive SEC titles to defend, the Gators positively steamrolled to a third straight with one of the most dominant wire-to-wire performances in league history. UF won its eight regular-season conference games by an average score of 45-16 and then — after beating No. 6 Florida State 35-24 to complete the first unbeaten season in program history — smashed Arkansas 34-3 in the SEC Championship Game to cap a 12-0 season. Along the way, Florida averaged 534.4 yards and 27.3 first downs per game. Of course, the run at perfection came crashing down in horrific/lopsided fashion when the Gators ran up against No. 1 and defending national champion Nebraska in the Fiesta Bowl, with the Cornhuskers flogging the Gators 62-24 to win their second straight national title. 
Coach: After six years, favorite Florida son and the school's only Heisman Trophy winner Steve Spurrier had completely altered the landscape of the once three-yards/cloud-of-dust SEC with his Fun-N-Gun fireworks offense. UF had never won the SEC title before Spurrier took over as coach in 1990. After his sixth season, the Gators stood a combined 61-13-1 under Spurrier, with three conference titles (and another first-place finish during the 1990 NCAA probation year).  
Stars: Quarterback Danny Wuerffel (64.6 percent, 3,266 yards, 35 TDs, 10 INT) led an offense that rewrote the record books, setting marks not only in yards and points per game, but also in passing yards and touchdowns. Wuerffel, who finished third in the Heisman balloting and was named SEC Championship Game MVP, had a pair of 1,000-yard receivers in Chris Doering (70 catches, 1,045 yards SEC-record 17 TDs) and Ike Hilliard (57-1,008-15). Linebacker Ben Hanks' 95-yard fourth-quarter fumble return was the play of the night in the SEC title win over the Razorbacks.  

1995 Women's Swimming & Diving 
Season summary: So, the SEC first began contesting women's swimming in 1981, with the Gators capturing their 13th championship in those 14 years. This team won eight events at the SEC meet, with the league's swimmer of the year, freshman and Gainesville native Allison Wagner, who began her collections of 11 All-America honors as a collegiate rookie.  
Coach: After leaving prep power Peddie School in New Jersey, Chris Martin continued the title-winning legacy left behind when Skip Foster stepped down in 1992.
Stars: Wagner had a piece of four of those SEC winners, including the 200 and 400 IMs, plus the 200 breast, as well as a leg in the 800 free relay along with Nikki Dryden, Mimosa McNerney and Amy Walker. Dryden also won the 500 and 1,650 free, while Barbara Franco claimed the 200 fly and Beth Hazel the 200 back. 

1995 Women's Golf 
Season summary: The women's golf program was shaken in the fall of '94 when Mimi Ryan, the only coach the Gators had ever had, would step down after the fall season following a 25-year career that included six SEC titles and back-to-back NCAA crowns in 1985-86. Enter Kim Haddow, who arrived by way of Arizona in January, and the Gators promptly claimed four regular-season tournament titles (their most in nine years), then steamrolled the field at the SEC Championships to win by a staggering 29 strokes. 
Coach: Haddow had been at Arizona the previous 12 seasons and was NCAA Coach of the Year for the Wildcats in 1992. 
Stars: A final-round 69 by Jeanne-Marie Busuttil got the French native second place at the conference tournament on her way to being named SEC Freshman of the Year and second-team All-America. Junior Dina Taylor finished in a tie for sixth. Busuttil, Taylor and sophomore Kim Little were first-team All-SEC honorees, while Sarah Jones and Ann Pohira checked in on the second team.

1995 Volleyball  Season summary: The Gators dropped only two matches and 13 games on the way to a sparkling 35-2 record, setting a school mark with a winning percentage of .946. UF also set a record for sweeps in a season, claiming 3-0 wins in 30 of its 35 victories, including three sweeps to become the first team to win the SEC Tournament without dropping a game. It marked UF's fifth straight conference title (and fourth straight tournament title) and a fifth consecutive NCAA Tournament berth, this one ending against eighth-ranked Texas in the Elite Eight. 
Coach: This was the ground-floor phase of Mary Wise's construction of a conference dynasty. After winning a fourth straight SEC Coach of the Year award, Wise's record at the end of the '95 season stood at 165-19. She's now closing in on 1,000 victories on the Florida sidelines. 
Stars: Outside hitter Aycan Gokberk, the Turkish native and one of the best players in league history, won her second SEC Player of the Year Award. She won it as a sophomore in '93, then blew out her knee in '94. The injury was so severe it was doubtful she'd play again. But oh did she play again: 576 kills (on her way to setting a UF career record in that category) and a hitting percentage of .423. Missy Aggert, Ashley Mullis and Jenny Wood also garnered first-team all-conference honors.

1995 Women's Tennis 
Season summary: Without a senior on the squad, the Gators blitzed the conference competition, finishing a perfect 11-0 and winning the league title for the 13th time. UF, with 23 of its 27 match victories by shutout, carried the momentum into the SEC Tournament with three more victories, including a 5-4 defeat of defending champion Georgia. When it came time to dole out All-SEC honors, each of Florida's regular-lineup players were recognized, led by SEC Player of the Year Jill Craybas. UF lost to Texas 5-4 in the NCAA final at Malibu, Calif. 
Coach: In his 11th season, Andy Brandi laid claim to his ninth SEC title and ran his record with the Gators to 291-34 for a winning percentage of .895. 
Stars: In addition to Craybas, the Texas transfer, freshman Dawn Buth was named ITA Rookie of the Year, while Divya Merchant, Lisa Pugliese, Lori Ann Freedman and Bonnie Bleecker were placed on the all-conference squad. Yes, all six singles players. That's how good this team was. 

1996 Baseball
Season summary: Coach Andy Lopez did a postseason house-cleaning after his inaugural '95 campaign that went 32-24, with a 12-14 SEC tally. The Gators entered Lopez's second season unranked and with 19 freshman dominating the 26 newcomers. All they did was go 50-18 and win the conference for the first time since 1988 by going 20-10 in the league. As for all those freshmen? Yeah, they turned out to be pretty good. Historically good, in some instances (read on), but first baseman Chuck Hazzard (.366, 18 HRs, 67 RBI) and former walk-on David Eckstein (.338, 19 doubles, 60 RBI) were standouts in the field and at the plate, while lefty John Kaufman (11-5, 101 K, 47 BB) and Paul Rigdon (9-2, 2.19 ERA) were the key cogs on the mound. 
Coach: Lopez was the 1992 National Coach of the Year after leading Pepperdine to the College World Series title. He got a second such trophy in '96, sharing both the national and SEC awards. 
Stars: Let's start with a guy named Brad Wilkerson. The freshman from Owensboro, Ky., hit .407 with 22 doubles, nine homers and 68 RBI. Oh, and he also was summoned from center field to pitch in a pinch in 30 games, going 5-2 with a 2.97 ERA, 67 strikeouts and 28 walks. Wilkerson was a first-team freshman All-American and stands today as the best player in UF history. Classmate and third baseman Mark Ellis (.351) was the other big-time impact freshman, while shortstop John Tamargo (.322, 20 doubles) and catcher Eric Castaldo (.317), a pair of seniors, were postseason honorees, as well.   

1996 Football Season summary: Over one five-week SEC stretch, the Gators — with a ton of players back the '95 team that vaporized everyone but Nebraska — beat Peyton Manning and No. 2 Tennessee 35-29 on the road (after taking a 35-0 first-half lead), Kentucky at home 65-0, Arkansas 42-7 on the road, LSU 56-13 and Auburn 51-10 at home, then Georgia 47-7 at Jacksonville in ascending to the nation's top ranking. Injuries on the offensive line proved pivotal in a 24-21 loss at second-ranked Florida State in the regular-season finale, a defeat that seemingly eliminated the Gators from the national-title hunt. UF, though, went to the SEC Championship Game against No. 4 Alabama (armed with the nation's top-ranked pass defense) and Wuerffel passed for 401 yards and six TDs in a 45-30 win to capture a league record-tying fourth straight conference title. And, of course, the college football stars aligned for the Gators that day and weeks later, as the UF-FSU rematch in the Sugar Bowl behind Wuerffel's 306 yards and three TDs to Hilliard (7 catches, 150 yards) in what turned out to be for the national championship. The Gators destroyed the Seminoles 52-20 for the program's first title.
Coach: Spurrier's record against FSU wasn't great — 5-8-1 over his 12 seasons — but none of their matchups were bigger than the one in the Superdome on Jan. 2, 1997. The Seminoles, and the nation's top-ranked defense, were completely outclassed that night. 
Stars: After finishing third in balloting the season before, Wuerffel (3,625 yards, 39 TD, 13 INTs) became UF's second Heisman winner (joining his head coach) in '96. Both Reidel Anthony (72 catches, 1,293 yards, NCAA-leading 18 TDs) and Hilliard (47 catches, 900 yards, 10 TDs) garnered All-America honors. Offensive guard Donnie Young was joined on the All-SEC first team by defensive tackle Ed Chester, linebacker James Bates, cornerbacks Anthone Lott and Fred Weary, as well as strong safety Lawrence Wright. 

1996 Women's Swimming & Diving 
Season summary: This season marked the end of UF's conference dominance in women's swimming, as the Gators claimed their 14th crown in the 15-year history of the SEC championship. In fact, the Gators did not win another women's SEC crown until 2002, and the next in 2009, which remains the last time the program won the league. 
Coach: Martin was the first African-American swim coach in league history.
Stars: Wagner again claimed four firsts, including individuals in the 200 free, 200 fly and 200 IM, giving her championships in five different individual events her first two seasons (and locking up a no-contest second straight SEC Female Swimmer of the Year). McNerney (1,650 free), Dawn Heckman (200 free) and Jennifer Hommert (400 IM) also were on the individual winner's podium. Heckman, Hommert, Rachel Joseph and Wagner teamed to capture the 800 free relay.   

1996 Soccer 
Season summary: In just its second season of existence, the UF soccer team posted a sterling 22-3 record that included an unbeaten run through conference regular-season play and into the league's postseason tournament, where forward Sarah Yohe slammed home the game-winning goal in overtime against Arkansas to cap the Gators' perfection against the SEC. Along the way, only two conference opponents managed even to score against the Gators, who were awarded the No. 8 seed of the NCAA Tournament and advanced to the regional final before a matchup with reigning 14-time national champion and top-ranked North Carolina, which crushed UF 9-0.
Coach: Having started the program from scratch in 1994, Becky Burleigh was just 28 when she won her first league title. She'd coached four seasons at NAIA Berry (Ga.) College, which she guided to a national title in 1990 at the age of 22. Burleigh, like the Gators, was just getting started on the pitch in '96. And regarding that 9-0 defeat against the Tar Hells? Well, atonement would come down the line, but that's a story for another championship anniversary. 
Stars: UF placed five players on the all-conference team, with redshirt-junior forward Danielle Fotopoulos garnering both SEC Player of the Year and second-team All-America honors after scoring a whopping 34 goals (still a school record) and tallying 83 points. Junior midfielder Erin Baxter joined "Fotop" on the SEC first and All-America second teams, while Pini, defender Melanie Freeman and midfielder/defender Adrianne Moreira each were named to second team. 

1996 Volleyball 
Season summary: Despite losing five seniors, four of them starters, the Gators surpassed both the victory and winning percentage records of the '95 team in going 37-2, sweeping both the SEC regular season and tournament crowns, and advancing to the Final Four for the third time in four seasons before falling to eventual national runner-up Hawaii. The season started much the way it finished. UF lost to top-ranked Hawaii in five games to open the '96 slate, but then won 37 matches in a row before falling to Rainbows on the doorstep of the NCAA final.  
Coach: Wise was named National Coach of the Year for the second time; her 202 wins since the '91 season was 22 more than the next-closest program in the country at the time. UF's .906 winning percentage in her six seasons was second only to powerhouse Stanford (.911). 
Stars: Wood was named SEC Player of the Year and Aurymar Rodriguez the MVP of the SEC Tournament. Nina Foster, Rodriguez and Nikki Shade were first-team all-league sections and Wise (again) was coach of the year. 

1996 Women's Tennis 
Season summary: Simply put, it was the greatest season in Florida tennis history — and one of the greatest seasons ever by a UF team. Period. The Gators started the season ranked No. 1 and went a perfect 31-0, with 11 wins in SEC play and three more in the conference tournament, and spanked their four opponents in the NCAA play by a combined 20-3, including a 5-2 defeated of second-ranked Stanford in the finals at Tallahassee. For Florida, it was the 14th SEC championship in the 17-year history of tennis in the conference. The Gators weren't done, however. After the team competition, Craybas won the NCAA singles title and the duo of Buth and Stephanie Nikitas won the doubles crown, making UF just the second program in college tennis history to sweep all three championships. 
Coach: Brandi, with his second NCAA title, was named National Coach of the Year for the third time. 
Stars: Basically, they were all the same standouts — Craybas, Buth, Merchant — from the season before, along with Nikitas, the sophomore.  


Happy 10th (and 11th) Anniversary! 2010 Baseball 
Season summary: The Gators had to beat the team that turned out to be the nation's best in order to be the SEC's best. Fourth-ranked Florida went to sixth-ranked South Carolina for the final weekend of the conference regular season, with the winner of the series laying claim to the league crown. Florida won the opener 3-2, thanks to junior lefty reliever Kevin Chapman, who closed the door on the Gamecocks with two scoreless innings after they'd rallied for three runs down to within a run in the seventh. In the second game, with USC facing a must-win situation, junior Josh Adams broke open a tie in the seventh with a two-run double, and UF went on to win 5-2 and claim its first league championship since 2005 and the 11th in program history. Florida finished the season 47-17 (22-8 in SEC play) and advanced to the College World Series, where they were eliminated in two games by UCLA and Florida State. 
Coach: In his third season since coming to UF after nine seasons as an assistant at Clemson, Kevin O'Sullivan won his first league title.
Stars: Senior center fielder Matt den Dekker led the team with a .352 average to go with 13 homers and 49 RBI, while Austin Maddox hit .333 with a team-best 17 homers and 72 RBI on the way to being Florida's first SEC Freshman of the Year since Wilkerson in 1996. Sophomore utility man Preston Tucker hit .331 with 11 homers and 49 RBI. On the mound, Alex Panteliodis (11-3, 3.51 ERA, 82 strikeouts, 18 walks) was the team's ace starter and Chapman (3-0, 1.65 ERA) the big arm out of the bullpen. 

2010 Men's Outdoor Track 
Season summary: The Gators claimed their first SEC outdoor championships since 1987 on the home track of the University of Tennessee. UF, ranked third in the country, scored 124 points to finish ahead of sixth-ranked LSU (100 points) and 11th-ranked South Carolina (89). In ending a 23-year trophy drought, UF got individual wins from sophomore triple-jumper Christian Taylor, speedster Jeff Demps, decathlete Gray Horn and the team/s 4x400 relay team. 
Coach: For Mike Holloway, the championship was his first of many, including more national titles than any coach in Gators history. 
Stars: Taylor's winning leap of 54 feet, 8.75 inches made him UF's first league champ in the triple since Mike Sharpe in 1976, while freshman Omar Craddock placed third. Demps, a sophomore who doubled as an All-SEC return man for the football team, became UF's first 100-meter champion since Bernard Williams in 2004, thanks to a time of 10.06. The team title was clinched when the 4x400 quartet of R.J. Anderson, Tony McQuay, Taylor and Calvin Smith won the event in 3:02.69. 

2010 Women's Cross Country 
Season summary: The defending SEC-champion Gators won their first meet of the season, the UF-hosted Mountain Dew Invitational, but were no better than seventh in the three that followed, including a 19th-place finish (out of 40 teams) at the NCAA Pre-Nationals in Indiana. Just over two weeks later, though, Florida returned to its 2009 form, placing three runners in the top eight (and four in the top 17) on the way to scoring 60 points and squeaking past runner-up Arkansas by a single point. UF's five front runners finished strong, each passing competitors over the final 800 yards to push the Gators past the Razorbacks. 
Coach: For Todd Morgan, it was back-to-back titles.  
Stars: Sophomore Charlotte Browning and junior Rebecca Lowe placed third (21:11.13) and sixth (21:15.47), respectively, garnering All-SEC honors. Junior Genevieve LaCaze earned second-team for placing eighth, while freshman Cory McGee, the second freshman finisher among the top 100 competitors grabbed All-Freshman accolades, along with Stephanie Strasser (26th). 

2010 Women's Indoor Track
Season summary: UF, ranked third in the country, cruised to its first indoor SEC championship since 2004, easily defeating No. 6 Arkansas by a 38-point margin. The win was the sixth title in program history, the second-most of any conference team. Florida won five individual titles, including two by Browning, the standout distance specialist, and Shara Proctor in the long and triple jump. 
Coach: For "Mouse" Holloway, the championships were just beginning to mount.  
Stars: Browning, ranked No. 1 in the nation in the women's mile, ran a 4:37.29, adding to the title in the 3,000 meters she won the day before. Proctor defended her 2010 SEC championship in the triple jump with a leap of 44 feet, 2.75 inches. The two were co-recipients of the Cliff Harper Trophy that goes to the high-points scorer of the meet. The Gators also got an individual title from Maraium Kevkhishvili in the shot put. 

2010 Gymnastics  Season summary: UF lost its early meet at No. 1 and defending conference champ Alabama in February, but exacted a measure of revenge — against both the Crimson Tide and five-time reigning NCAA-champion Georgia — by winning the SEC meet at Jacksonville in a field that included five teams ranked in the top 10. The Gators had a rough first-rotation on vault, but then tuned out the bad vibes and locked in for stellar rotations on bars, beam and floor to finish at 197.05 to Bama's 196.85. Georgia finished third. For Florida, it was a seventh league crown and the first in three years. 
Coach: Plucked from an assistant's post at Nebraska in 2003, Rhonda Faehn won her second conference title and, of course, was just getting warmed up on the trophy front, what with the Gators winning back-to-back-to-back NCAA titles in 2013-15. 
Stars: Four Gators set or matched five collegiate-best marks in the finals: Courtney Gladys (9.90) and Elizabeth Mahlich (9.875) on bars; Marissa King on beam (9.90) and floor (9.875); Liz Green on floor (9.875). Ashanée Dickerson was named SEC Freshman of the Year, while senior Maranda Smith padded her All-America honors. 

2010 Soccer 
Season summary: The Gators won the SEC again. Like they did in 2009, 2008, 2007 and 2006. Ho-hum. OK, so no one in the soccer program took championships for granted, but UF was in its title-winning hey day, to be sure, in finishing 9-1-1 in league play, with wins in its last five regular-season conference matchups, plus a sweep of the of the three games in the SEC Tournament. It was Florida's 11th league title in soccer (out of possible 16) since launching the program in '95. Florida, which finished 19-2-1, reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament before an upset home loss to Duke on penalty kicks in the second round.  
Coach: Burleigh just continued stacking championship trophies in the case. 
Stars: Sophomore Kathryn Williamson was named SEC Defensive Player of the Year and second-team All American. Sophomore McKenzie Barney led the league in goals (14) and shared the lead for game-winning goals (5) and was third in points (32), behind teammate and junior midfielder/forward Tahnai Annis, who was second (33 points, 12 goals). Both were Barney and Annis received All-SEC honors, along with sophomore forward Erika Tymrak, who also was the SEC Tournament MVP. Midfielder Taylor Travis was the SEC Freshman of the Year. Keeper Katie Fraine had 10 solo shutouts. 

2010 Volleyball 
Season summary: Six matches in, the UF-hosted Nike Challenge at the O'Dome featured a pair of teams, Penn State and Texas, that would reach the Final Four. The Gators lost to the No. 1 Nittany Lions and defeated No. 5 Texas, the latter of which began a 24-match winning streak that included a perfect run through the SEC during which they lost just nine sets over 20 matches. Along the way, Florida ascended to the top of the national polls and stayed there for eight weeks and eventual was awarded the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament. One of the greatest runs in program history, however, ended in disappointment when Florida was upset 3-0 by 16th-seeded Purdue in the regional semifinal and finished the season 29-2. Penn State, the team that handed the Gators their other defeat, won the national title. 
Coach: Wise's 20th season was one of her finest. 
Stars: Junior setter Kelly Murphy became UF's first first-team All-American in four years and was the only player in the SEC to rank in the league's top 10 in kills per set, service aces per set and hitting percentage. Senior middle blocker Lauren Bledsoe and senior outside hitter Callie Rivers middle blocker Cassandra Anderson led the SEC in blocks

2010 Women's Tennis 
Season summary: After taking back-to-back losses to No. 3 Northwestern and No. 12 UCLA in NCAA indoors play, the Gators reeled off 23 consecutive victories, highlighted by an 11-match blitz through SEC play — beating opponents by a combined 63-5 along the way — including a 12-1 spree over LSU, South Carolina and Tennessee that gave UF its first conference tournament crown since 2008. Florida was pegged the No. 3 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament, but ultimately lost to eighth-ranked Stanford 4-3 in the national finals at Athens, Ga. 
Coach: In looking to replace Brandi, a Hall-of-Famer, in 2002, the Gators lured Roland Thornqvist from North Carolina. He did not miss a beat, guiding the Gators to the SEC title and runner-up NCAA finish his first season, then winning both the SEC and NCAA titles his second.  
Stars: The catalysts of this squad were a pair of freshmen in SEC Player of the Year Lauren Embree and Allie Will, both of whom were bestowed league and All-America honors after the season. Senior Marritt Boonstra was named SEC Tournament MVP for her dominant run through the event. 

2011 Baseball 
Season summary: The Gators clinched a piece of the SEC regular-season title on the season's final day by stomping Kentucky 19-3 and grabbed a share of the crown alongside South Carolina. UF carried the momentum into the conference tournament, despite losing a game to Georgia, by rallying with a rematch win over the Bulldogs to gain a spot in the tourney final, where the Gators shutout Vanderbilt 5-0. Florida went on to the College World Series — a second straight under Sullivan — and advanced to the championship series, but fell to the top-ranked and reigning NCAA-champion Gamecocks in two games. UF finished 53-19 on the season and equaled the best NCAA finish in program history.  
Coach: In his fourth season, O'Sullivan was voted National Coach of the Year and became the fourth UF coach to win multiple league championships, joining Dave Fuller (1952, '56, '62), Joe Arnold ('84, '88) and the aforementioned Lopez ('96, '98). Of course, "Sully" in time would pass Fuller and and stand atop the Florida baseball list for multiple SEC titles. Oh, and one national title (2017), too. 
Stars: Sophomore catcher Mike Zunino (.371, 19 HR, 67 RBI) was a first-team All American and 2011 SEC Player of the Year. Junior outfielder Daniel Pigott (.331, 15 SB) was the SEC Tournament Most Valuable Player and junior first baseman Preston Tucker (.308, 15 HR, 74 RBI) was a first-team all-conference selection. Sophomore lefty Brian Johnson (.307, 8-3 W-L, 1.17 ERA) was a finalist for John Olerud Two-Way Player of the Year and sophomore right-hander Hudson Randall (11-3, 2.17 ERA, 73 K, 13 BB) was the workhorse on the mound. 

2011 Men's Indoor Track  Season summary: The top-ranked Gators, on the strength of 10 individual titles (including eight on the meet's final day), piled up 148 points to out-duel fifth-ranked Arkansas (136.5) and second-ranked LSU (98). For Florida, it was the first SEC team championship since 2004, and it got off to a rousing start that final day by going 1-2-3 in the triple jump (1-Taylor, 2-Will Claye, 3-Craddock), then winning the first three races of the day: Lovett (60m hurdles), Demps (60m) and Dumisani Hlaselo (3,000m). 
Coach: More hardware for Holloway.
Stars: So many, but the Gators had four athletes set school records during the meet. Demps in the 60m (6.55); Gray Horn in the heptathlon (5,186 points); Kemal Mesic in the shot put (64 feet, 1 inch); Taylor in the triple (56-11.5)

2011 Lacrosse 
Season summary: Florida announced in 2006 it would add women's lacrosse. In 2007, it hired Amanda O'Leary. The Gators began play in 2010 as the sixth member of the American Lacrosse Conference and in just the second year of existence — in a league that featured NCAA champion Northwestern, plus Johns Hopkins Georgetown, Ohio State, Penn State and Vanderbilt — the Gators went unbeaten in conference play, including a 13-11 upset of No. 1 Northwestern at home behind six goals from attacker Kitty Cullen, including three of her team's four in the second half. Two clutch saves by goalkeeper Mikey Meagher helped preserve the win in a terrific start-up story. 
Coach: O'Leary was a standout player during her days at Temple (good enough to be inducted into the US Lacrosse Hall of Fame) and head coach at Yale for 13 years before coming to UF to build the program from scratch. That first conference-winning squad featured 24 players from the first signing class, including seven first-team prep All-Americans who obviously liked what they saw in the Sunshine State when visiting from the lacrosse hotbeds of the Northeast. 
Stars: Cullen was honored as a first-team All-American after finishing second in the nation in goals scored (77) and goals per game (3.85), while ranking fifth in points (86). Attacker Ashley Bruns (46 goals, 28 assists, 74 points) ranked in the top 50 in nearly every statistical category, while middle Brittany Dashiel gave UF three players with at least 50 points. Meagher finished 10th nationally in goals against.

2011 Men's Basketball  Season summary: In 2010, the Gators made it back to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since winning the second of their back-to-back national championships in '07, but were ousted in the first round. The '10-11 squad was supposed to be good, but it was way better — better, than everyone's preseason favorite Kentucky — in going 29-8, including 13-3 in league play to claim the program's fifth SEC crown and first since that '07 campaign. UF clinched no worse than a tie by smashing Alabama 78-51 on March 1, then won the championship outright with an 86-76 road win at Vanderbilt in the regular-season finale. The Gators received a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament and reached the Elite Eight, only to drop a 74-71 overtime heartbreaker to Butler on the doorstep of the Final Four.
Coach: For Billy Donovan, it was his fourth SEC championship, as well as his ninth NCAA berth over the previous 11 seasons. 
Stars: Senior forward Chandler Parsons was named 2011 SEC Player of the Year, a tribute to his all-around floor game (11.3 points, 7.8 rebounds and 3.7 assists). Parsons was the fourth-leading scorer on the team, behind sophomore point guard Erving Walker (14.6 ppg), shooting guard Kenny Boynton (14.2 ppg) and center Vernon Macklin (11.6 ppg, 5.4 rpg). [Worth noting: A quartet of role-playing freshmen saw here-and-there minutes on that team. Their names? Patrick Young, Scottie Wilbekin, Will Yeguete and Casey Prather] 

2011 Men's Golf 
Season summary: They opened the season by winning the JU Invitational, then followed that up by claiming the Gator Invitational two weeks later. Two weeks before the SECs, the Gators went to South Carolina and placed a pedestrian eighth among 15 teams at the Hootie @ Bulls Bay Invitational, but bounced back in a big way in mid-April by taking the first-round lead and going wire-to-wire to win the conference crown by six strokes over runner-up Alabama at Sea Island in St. Simons, Ga. The win was UF's 15th league title, and first since 2003, plus the 200th SEC championship among all sports. 
Coach: Hall-of-Famer Buddy Alexander was a five-time SEC Coach of the Year and guided Florida to eight conference championships and two NCAA titles during his 27 seasons.  
Stars: Redshirt senior Andres Echavarria, of Colombia, fired a final-round 69 to claim medalist honors, leading three UF players into the top five. Though the Gators led after every round, the tournament came down to the final hole — on a windy, rainy and steamy day — with Echavarria birdied the 18th hole, while Phillip Choi and Bank Vongvanij went par to finish tied for third and fifth, respectively, in medalist play. 

2011 Women's Tennis  Season summary: After rolling to wins in their first 10 matches and ascending to No. 2 in the rankings, the Gators hit a pot hole with a 4-2 loss to their ol' nemesis, No. 1 Stanford, in the finals of the national indoors championships. The youthful but talented Gators hit reset and went on a rampage of the league, winning all 11 duel matches by a combined 65-2 and along the way netting the program's 100th straight home match at the Linder Complex. UF made unblemished work of its three foes (South Carolina, Vanderbilt and Tennessee) with 4-0 victories to win the SEC Tournament at Knoxville, and like the year before rode a load of momentum into NCAA Tournament. This time, the Gators finished what they started and did so in spectacular fashion, capping the season with a pulsating 4-3 come-from-behind rally and win over Stanford on the Cardinal's home court for the fifth national championship in program history and first since 2003. 
Coach: Thornqvist inherited an annual NCAA contender when he took over nine years earlier, and thus understood the expectations. He not only embraced those expectations, he met them.  
Stars: At the SEC Tournament, Will took home MVP honors for the second straight year by winning all her singles and doubles matches, while freshman Olivia Janowicz did the same. But the star of stars in the postseason was Embree, who was the UF championship match in microcosm. The Gators trailed the team match 3-1, but rallied to tie it at 3-all, with it all falling to Embree at No. 2 singles, where she fell behind 4-0 in her match against Mallory Burdette. Embree fought back to take Burdette to a tiebreaker, fell back 2-0, but won the match and the championship point 8-6 to set off a celebration and give Thornqvist his second NCAA title.